I ended up doing a combination of things. First of all, there were some great 2nd edition Greyhawk source books published by TSR in 1999-2000, before they went to third edition. Although it is listed an adventure module, Slavers is really a source book for the Pomarj and contains information about NPCs that may have survived the original Scourge of the Slavelords adventure, including Markessa, Stalman Klim and a monk named Brother Kerin who, in the original module, encounters the party after their fight with the slavelords, but in my version, I just made him one of the nine (replacing Brother Mileroij). So for Markessa and Stalman Klim, I was able to pull the information directly from the Slaver's sourcebook, including all of the information about the Earth Dragon Priests and their special abilities. These folks were tough.
For Brother Kerin himself, I bumped him up to 10th level to match everyone else. For the big-bad fighter, Eanwulf, I kept him at 10th level, but I customized his build to include specialization with a scimitar, because it seems to me the main reason to choose a plain fighter in first edition is for weapon specialization, so I like to give major fighter NPCs specializations. Theg Narlot was the biggest change. In published Greyhawk canon, Theg Narlot escapes and later becomes Turrosh Mak. As the party has already encountered Turrosh Mak, a former slave intent of destroying the slavelords, I have clearly gone another direction. Theg Narlot is a fighter/assassin custom build. I just took the total experience point average for the slavelords (including Klim) and calculated how much that would give him when divided between fighter and assassin. It actually turned out to be 10/11, which surprised me. Edralve was also a custom build, but I will keep her particulars close to the vest for now, as she still lives. I also customized Ajakstu and increased him from level 9 to level 10, but didn't change much except what spells he had memorized. Nerelas the assassin was bumped up to level 11 and customized a little. For the most part, if they were listed as having a +1 weapon, I changed it to +2, or even +3 in the case of Eanwulf, because these guys were very wealthy and powerful and were capturing important people like Dame Gold, so it made sense they would keep the best weapons for themselves. I also gave each of them a small magic item of some sort, like Ring of Protection or Ring of Free Action or, in the case of Brother Kerin, a Ring of Shocking Grasp. The remaining slavelords, Lamonsten the Lazy and Slippery Ketta were completely unchanged.
I don't know how best to narrate this fight. I couldn't remember all of the details if I tried. There were six slavelords in the room, and they knew the party was coming and had a couple of rounds to prepare. When Pontus slid the secret door open, they all unleashed a surprise attack (though Pontus, as a barbarian, was not surprised and leaped straight into action). The six slavelords in the room were:
1. Eanwulf
2. Theg Narlot
3. Brother Kerin
4. Ajakstu
5. Lamonsten the Lazy
6. Slippery Ketta
Standing attention against one wall were three guards in brown scale mail and three guards in black scale mail (also from the Slavers supplement).
Ajakstu had already placed Strength spells on Eanwulf and Brother Kerin earlier, and had put up a Globe of Invulnerability (immunity to 4th level spells and below - he was well aware of what Sarril's wands could do). When Pontus slid the door open, Ajakstu immediately released a Wall of Force spell from his Ring of Spell Storing to block the passage behind the party, cutting off their retreat (unbeknownst to them). Eanwulf threw an axe at Pontus that landed squarely in his shoulder, which was followed by a poisoned throwing knife from Theg Narlot (Pontus saved vs. poison). Before Pontus could take an action, however, Lamonsten, an illusionist, cast Hypnotic Pattern on the wall, causing both Pontus and Jarrus to become hypnotized. Sarril was able to avoid the effects of the hypnosis and having the initiative on the next round, he used his Wand of Ice Storms to fill the room with icy hail, which immediately killed Lamonsten and the three brown scaled guards. Lamonsten's death released Pontus and Jarrus to do their thing.
Since Sarril had earlier cast Fly on everyone, the party was able to move about just an inch above the floor and, when needed, fly to the ceiling. This made Jarrus immune to the movement restrictions of the ice covered floor and immediately closed in on Ajakstu to prevent further spell casting, but not before Ajakstu cast a Cone of Cold, hitting everyone but Sarril, who had flown into the room and took position 20 feet in the air so he can continue to cast spells without being in range of melee.
DM's Note: The decision by Ajakstu to cast Cone of Cold was a change in game plan. The original plan was for him to dispel the Flight on the party, which he would have have a reasonable chance of success to do. But when he saw that Jarrus was trying to close in on him, self-preservation kicked in and he cast Cone of Cold to try and kill Jarrus. It hurt him badly, but did not kill him. This made all of the difference as the flight is what gave the party the advantage. Had Ajakstu not freaked out and instead did what he was supposed to do, the party would have been on floor fighting with everyone else, and would have quickly been overcome by the powerful melee fighters. Nonetheless, I felt the decision was appropriate for the circumstances. If a bear is charging you and you have a gun in your hand, you use it.
Eanwulf closed in on Pontus to fight one on one while Theg Narlot threw poisoned knives at Sarril, occasionally hitting him, trying to wear him down. The remaining three black scaled guards closed in around Jarrus as did Brother Kerin, who was trying to take him out before he killed the spellcaster. Brother Kerin and the three guards brought Jarrus down to just three hit points, but Sarril cast Mirror Image on Jarrus, buying him a little more time (DM's Note: this was a mistake, as Mirror Image does not work on targets other than the caster, but in the intensity of the battle, I didn't think about it and let it happen - we will call it a divine miracle). Thanks to this spell, and the help of an invisible Cassius striking the mage from behind, Jarrus was able to kill them all, just before Ajakstu was able to get off a Mirror Image of his own.
Cadwin entered the fight by casting carefully directed Lightning Strikes (this is the druid version of Lightning Bolt - from Dungeon Magazine). Though he didn't kill anyone, he severely wounded Theg and Eanwulf. Eanwulf soon dropped Pontus below zero hit points so he was bleeding out, then turned his attention to Cadwin, dropping him before he could fly off. During this time, Slippery Ketta, having earlier drank a Potion of Invisibility, snuck over to Jarrus, who was still under a True Sight spell and able to see her. She could not get the backstab and was forced into melee, and soon met her end.
Jarrus, having just killed the last of the guards on him, rushed at Eanwulf, who was able to swing first and drop Jarrus. This left only Sarril and Cassius standing. Cassius took another swig of invisibility potion and moved around to backstab Theg, but missed. Sarril, realizing that Jarrus and Pontus were both bleeding out, put himself in harms way to come down to the ground and heal and stabilize them both. This allowed Eanwulf to get some solid hits in on him, severely wounding, but not killing him. Sarril responded by flying back into the air and firing off magic missiles until both Theg and Eanwulf were dead.
Sarril then flew back down to check on the Cadwin while Cassius began to look at the bodies of the dead slavelords. That's when they heard the sound of footsteps coming down the spiral staircase. A dark elf (Edralve) and a tall man, 6' 2" tall in brown robes, gold scales and a dragon skull helm plated in gold. He slowly clapped his hands and said "Well done, well done. I really wasn't expecting you to get all of them in one go. It seems everyone keeps underestimating you." At this point, Sarril recognized the voice of the man as the same man they met in the tavern who told them about the assassin's guild and gave them advice on how to divide the slavelords and take them out one at a time. Both figures then cast Dispel Magic on Cassius and Sarril, removing their flight ability.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Stalman Klim, High Priest of the Earth Dragon. This is my companion Edralve. You have done me a great service here today. Now that this messiness is done, I just want to make sure I know where we stand. Are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"
There was some talk back and forth during which Sarril was considering his options. He then decided to quickly cast a spell. Unfortunately, Stalman Klim got the initiative and was able to shout "SILENCE!" before Sarril could get the spell off. "I guess it's the hard way then" he said, looking at Edralve, who then tossed a vial of liquid at Sarril, striking him in the chest. The liquid splashed and turned to a smoke that filled Sarril's lungs, causing him to drop into a deep sleep.
Stalman Klim then looked at Cassius "And what about you?"
"No, I'm good." replied Cassius, surrendering, but not before carefully hiding a set of lock picks in a place that we will not discuss.
Cassius, along with the unconscious party members, were all led or carried by guards in gold scales far away and then underground into 20x20x10 ft. prison cells carved into cave walls, with iron doors. Cadwin was placed inside a steel cage with cross bars inside his cell. The holes were too small for a bat to fit through - almost as if the cage were custom made for him. Each party member remained in their cell, isolated for two days. During that time, Stalman Klim came to each of their cells to interrogate them. He asked questions about the Temple of Elemental Evil and about an alchemist who was part of Dame Gold's party. Some of the party members asked Stalman Klim questions in return, and in classic evil villain style, he answered them - to an extent. He explained that the Earth Dragon is a god of retribution who will cleanse the world so that it can be built anew. He confirmed with Sarril that Captain Gahrana had indeed sailed to the Isles of Woe in the Nyr Dyv to recover an artifact, and said they would soon see what he intended to do with it. He told Pontus that he has been carefully watching the party ever since they destroyed the Temple of Elemental Evil, and has been very interested in what they have been up to. He also confirmed for Jarrus that it was he who raised him from the dead on the boat and had punished Captain Gahrana for allowing the alchemist to die. He also told a few of the party members that he formed the slavelords just over a decade ago, but was forced to "make a deal with the devil," so to speak, with the Horned Society and the Scarlet Brotherhood in order to finance the operation and ensure its success. While he wouldn't reveal exactly what he had planned next, he did make it clear that it was all possible because of the parties actions in removing the other members of the council. He admitted that he didn't care about the organization anymore, as it has served it's purpose.
Two days passed as the party members each contemplated what Klim told them in their cells, and wondered what it all meant (and what the role of the dark elves are in it all). Sarril's familiar, who was still above ground flying around and spying, communicated that a massive number of slaves were being moved from the city into the temple - several hundred of them. Soon, tremors began to shake the cells, and the party heard Stalman Klim's voice outside the cells. "The Earth Dragon has spoken! He is hungry, and the time has come to feed the weak to him."
The tremors kept coming, one an hour, then every 40 minutes, then every 30 minutes, closer and closer together, and stronger, until eventually the floor split open in a long fissure that ran across the cells. The party members were able to climb down inside and meet up with each other. Everyone was accounted for except for Cadwin, who was still trapped inside a steel cage. The party reach him and Cassius was able to produce a pair of lock picks out of someplace that we won't talk about. And a good thing to, as nothing else would have likely gotten this cage open. With Cadwin free, the entire party was able to follow the fissure down into a cave, where is was pitch dark, but on the ground was a scroll case with scrolls inside, though no one could read them. Those with infravision were able to lead the party through the caves, first following some light which they quickly decided was a Will O' Wisp trying to lure them to their death (they were right), and then choosing another direction, ending up in a pool of water.
So, this part of the module used to be a timed tournament module. The idea being that the party has to find a way out before time runs out and the cave collapses. The purpose was to test the wits of the characters to see if they can figure out how to survive by making makeshift weapons, etc. I was very concerned they would be stuck down here for a long time, and we would miss the big climax as 5 pm was approaching. But it turns out the party, through what I assume is pure luck, found their way straight to the exit.
They were able to bludgeon some fire beetles to death and make light from them, which allowed them to read the scrolls. A series of useful magic user scrolls, including Read Magic, and a note. The note read:
"This is the best I could do to help. May your gods be with you. If you escape, seek your revenge on the one who lured you here. Seek out the Water Dragon at the docks. - D.C."
The party soon found their way to a bat cave which was already dimly lit. They heard the sounds of chanting echoing from further ahead. Cassius went to investigate, and found himself staring over a ledge into an enormous room surrounding a chasm. On the far side was Stalmin Klim in full regalia, along with the high priestess and several brown robed clerics, all chanting. Surrounding the chasm on all sides were slaves.
Cassius returned to inform the rest of the party who then followed him back up to the ledge. The party watched as clerics brought forth a familiar looking crate and opened it. Stalmin Klim reached inside and pulled out a gold ovoid shaped object, similar to objects they saw on pedestals in the temple when they investigated before. He placed the object on a pedestal before him and started speaking in a language that Cadwin recognized as ancient Flan, though he could not understand the words. As he spoke, a white mist began swirling around the object, eventually forming into multiple tendrils that began reaching out and flowing through all of the people in the room, flowing through all of the slaves and even some of the clerics. Each person the mist flowed through began to wretch and their bodies began to shrivel as they let out silent screams before withered, lifeless bodies fell into the chasm. As all of the slaves were consumed, the tendrils continued to move about the room. The party noticed that, up on another ledge, overlooking the events were three men in black cloaks, who turned and walked away.
Once all of the slaves and unfortunate clerics were dead, the mist returned to the device, and it and the pedestal it was on, sunk into the earth. Stalmin Klim again raised his arms and shouted "Oh great and powerful Earth Dragon - AWAKEN! Show yourself and bring retribution to this world!" With that, the ground began again to shake and the bridges over the chasm started to collapse. A loud roaring could be heard from the chasm below, growing louder and louder with each passing second.
Then, a larger than life form leaped out of the chasm, its great claws clinging to the ledges as it pulled itself up, demolishing everything it touched. A great horned reptilian head reared up out of the chasm and in one swift motion bit down at a surprised Stalman Klim, removing his head from his now lifeless body. Panic ensued as those still living ran screaming in terror. The high priestess cast Meld to Stone to escape as the beast ran crashing through the entrance, leaving a giant hole in it's path.The party ran back to the bat cave where they saw a small hole in the ceiling about 100 ft. up. Sarril cast Spider Climb from the scroll he found onto Jarrus, who was able to carry Sarril. Cassius and Pontus climbed while Cadwin transformed into a bat, thus getting everyone safely out of the cavern. They could see from this venue that the tarrasque (not that the party knows what it is, but it was obvious to all of the players) had crashed through the front of the temple and was already destroying the city. They decided they needed to get to the Water Dragon before that thing does, and began running in that direction. They steered clear as best they could, but could see the beast knocking down buildings, walls, and towers with a whip of its tail like they were nothing, and stomping, crushing and occasionally biting at people running in all directions. Before the party could even get to the Scumslum before the docks, Suderham was already reduced to rubble, and the could see that the beast would be heading their direction soon.
Getting to the docks was not so easy, however, hundreds of people had all fled in the same direction. Boats were capsizing from the sheer numbers of people desperate to climb aboard. Fights were breaking out everywhere and some gray, slimy humanoid creatures were crawling out of the water to join the fray, adding to the chaos. As the party pushed their way toward the last pier, where they believed the Water Dragon to be located, they ran into a guard dressed in official uniform of Suderham. He seemed to recognize the party and said "are you the ones? Are you the saviors who destroyed the slavelords?"
Jarrus replied "yes, that's us. We are responsible for this."
The man replied "I am a member of Dame Gold's party. We were all captured together. We managed to escape when things turned chaotic a couple of days ago. I stole this uniform and we've been hiding out in the slums looking for a way out of here."
"Is Dame Gold with you?" Jarrus asked.
"Yes."
With that, the man led the party back into the scumslum and into a building where several people were hiding. He introduced a woman claiming to be Dame Gold and some members of her household. The party agreed to take them with them, in the off chance that this really is her. As they left the building, they could see the creature charging right toward them. It looked like they would not escape, but just then, the boy, Oric, stepped out from his shack and stood in the middle of the road, looking the creature straight in the eye. He then transformed into a full sized man in green robes and antlers on his head. He raised his hands to the sky, said a few words, then, just before getting trampled, he thrust his hands onto the ground causing a deep fissure to rip open in front of him, splitting open the road in front of the beast and causing it to fall into the exposed magma below. He then turned to the party and said "that will not hold it forever. You must go now."
The party, with refugees in tow, headed back to the docks. It is now late afternoon on the 5th Day of Goodmonth, CY580. The climax of the adventure is complete, though we had to stop short. When next we meet, we shall play out the epilogue to wrap this up, and then see what new adventures the party will seek. I think right now, they'd just settle for getting some of their stuff back, which they hope will be packed up on the Water Dragon. We shall see.
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